Dystopian America is the star of this documentary/fiction hybrid, which asks the question: “Where do you go when you’ve got nothing?” If you’re Bob, the film’s star, you head out in search of answers.

Bob, a down-on-his luck Louisianan, travels through the United States trying to track down Bill, a drifter, con man, and one-time friend who disappeared after he stole Bob’s car, but left his clue-filled notebook in the glove compartment. Bob’s journey intermingles with a small cast of similarly ill-fated characters, including a preacher who used to be a drug dealer, and a boxcar-riding, hitchhiking musician looking for beauty wherever she can find it.

The American Dream has already dissolved, as radio clips about the country’s financial decline continually remind the viewer. The film serves as a metaphor for present-day America, in which happiness and hope are elusive and all roads seem to lead to the same place.

With its focus on the gritty underbelly of the U.S., this is not a feel-good film, but rather a stark look at what life is like on the fringes. Some of its storylines prove much more effective than others, and it raises more questions than it’s ultimately able to answer.